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Tourist destinations across the globe have been hit by the worst of the crisis that ensued the Covid-19 pandemic, and this concern is exponentially worse in developing countries. Sustainable planning of these countries to face the unheralded crises demands an approach to provide the most efficient solutions using past experiences, unique characteristics of the present crisis, and existing obstacles and challenges. The present study was conducted to develop a Deep Neural Network (DNN) model using experiences of different countries in beating the crises in the tourism industry. Relying on its generalization capability, the proposed model can forecast the 'sustainable effectiveness of possible policies' in developing countries by modelling the dynamics between the characteristics of these systems and the possible policies. A case study of a developing country was conducted to explain the model development process and its efficiency. Based on the data of the characteristics of the Covid-19 crisis and the tourism industry under study, the model outputs indicated that the most effective and sustainable policy to resume the pre-crisis conditions is to employ the combined policy of focusing on domestic tourism and crisis preparedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land Suitability Analysis (LSA) is one of the most important methods for developing a precise land suitability map. The present study was aimed to identify suitable paddy crop-growing regions in the Koch Bihar district of West Bengal, India. For the study, 18 criteria were chosen, and their weightage was assigned based on expert opinion and the GIS-based Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy process (F-AHP) method adopted. Results indicated the most important factors for developing LSA for paddy cultivation are rainfall (16.72%), soil texture (13.22%), slope (11.55%), elevation (09.63%), soil moisture (08.27%), temperature (07.11%), and pH (05.03%). It has been observed that highly suitable (14.54%), moderately suitable (46.07%), marginally suitable (24.20%), and not suitable (15.19%) areas for paddy cultivation. The Area Under Curve (AUC) value (0.869) confirms the reliability of the F-AHP approach in LSA. The findings of the study provide sustainable agricultural planning and delineate potential sites for paddy cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the events industry will continue to place increasing demands on the environmental and social resource base upon which events depend. Although Local Authorities have a long-running commitment to achieving sustainable development, there exist many gaps in relation to its application within the context of planning for events management. In the current event environment there is a fundamental need for a sustainable approach to planning for events by Local Authorities, given their often statutory responsibility to license events and to facilitate and regulate the process of planning for large-scale outdoor public events. This research employed a multi-methodological approach utilising a content analysis of Local Authority event management plans and interviews with Local Authority event personnel. The findings report significantly low levels of Local Authority sustainable planning for event management in Ireland and point to the need for a consistent, transparent and state-wide sustainable approach to planning for events in Ireland. The lessons learned from this study may have implications for event destinations at international level. This study suggests a possible solution for Local Authorities to effectively lay the foundation for a transition towards greater levels of sustainable planning for events management going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden is considered an environmental sustainability pioneer, targeting a 50% reduction in energy use in buildings by 2050. This ambitious goal requires the active engagement of municipal actors and the building sector. Dialogue processes have been identified as a way to mobilize such engagement, but in earlier research, there has been a lack of studies where dialogue practices are analyzed in real-time and on location and where the role of leadership has been scrutinized. Taking two cases in Malmö as a starting point, the aim of this paper is to analyze the interconnections between dialogue models and the local context and to examine how the role of process leadership affects exchanges between included actors. The results show that it is difficult to create guidelines useful in the local context and that learning was embedded in the doing and was transferred through the process leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing urban densification projects in planning practice while simultaneously providing sufficient green spaces has proven to be challenging. Consequently, there is an increasing need for practical approaches to urban green space management in the on-going densification of cities. Therefore, this study was designed to give a better understanding of current green space management practice in two municipalities in Stockholm, Sweden, undergoing densification. The challenges identified through interviews with municipal planners were related to site-specific conditions for densification projects, conflicting interests between involved and affected actors, green quality management issues, and limited use of impact assessment tools. In the municipalities, innovative approaches were adopted in efforts to minimize the above challenges, such as collaboration between the developers and planners, or participatory workshops with the local citizens. This paper explores these challenges and approaches, and makes further recommendations for improving green space management practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main research goals of the article are to explain the historical context of urban food gardens in Czechia, to describe the current spatial pattern of allotment gardens, and to introduce and analyse recent trends in urban gardening. The main method for achieving the first goal was a literature study. For the second goal, geographical mapping and analysis of data relating to the spatial distribution of allotment gardens were used. For the third goal, mapping together with analysis of semi-structured interviews carried out in community gardens in Prague were used. The analysis showed a strong tradition of urban agriculture and urban food gardening activities in Czechia. Both allotment gardens and newly emerged community gardens were concentrated mainly in the biggest cities and in areas with a rich industrial and mining tradition. This finding supports the significance of gardening as an important element of urban agriculture. However, uncertainty regarding land tenure and long-term sustainability were among the greatest obstacles for the future of allotment and community gardens. The authors' main recommendations are that urban agriculture should be included as primary land use in sustainable planning and there should be broader community involvement in planning and decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing urban forest canopy coverage due to greening initiatives requires watershed managers to balance societal water practices with forest hydrological processes. One such process, canopy rainfall interception, can remove substantial portions of precipitation from catchments by simply intercepting, storing, and evaporating meteoric water. We performed a field study examining interception losses across temporal scales comparing two landscaping species of contrasting crown structures (Fagus grandifoliaEhrh., American beech, andLiriodendron tulipiferaL., yellow poplar), native to the highly urbanized northeastern United States, to highlight the effect of landscape design on urban water and storm water management. Results show that landscape designs using the rougher bark texture, lower branch inclination, and thinner canopy ofL. tulipiferacan increase water losses during rainfall and, therefore, can be used to improve storm water management. On the other hand, the smoother bark, higher branch inclination, and deeper canopy ofF. grandifoliadecreased water losses, allowing greater water transfer to the surface or subsurface. Thus, interception-related water resource losses during urban forestry projects can be manipulated to benefit urban sustainability efforts if designers consider the multifaceted ramifications of planting different tree species with differing canopy structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A number of studies explore the urban structure of the city of Tehran; however, little has been done in regard to its interconnectivity with the surrounding settlements and current challenges at the regional scale. This article investigates the making and current unsustainable condition of the Tehran-Karaj Urban Region arguing that it took shape passively in the absence of any structural framework. To tackle these problems, it is essential to formulate a regional sustainable comprehensive plan, one in which the interrelatedness across the entire region is observed, and which takes appropriate account of current international understandings regarding sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a declining periphery, tourism is often considered as a vehicle for regional development due to the positive economic impacts of the industry. However, tourism is not automatically the best saviour for all peripheral areas, because it can also cause some negative impacts. Therefore, sustainable planning is needed to balance the benefits and costs of tourism. The aim of this review is to discuss how to develop the tourism industry in order to create positive regional development in the peripheral areas in the Nordic context. The paper presents two approaches to the tourism planning and regional development nexus: the tourism-centred and regional development-centred. However, the structure of the regional economy and the tourism resources of the area set limitations for the application of these basic approaches in practice. In this respect, the proposed spatio-functional model would be an option to increase the positive regional development at the local level in a sustainable way. The model emphasizes a functional collaboration between industries in the core-periphery framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conceptual framework and methodological approach are developed to understand the potential linkage between urban domestic heat demand and the heatwave vulnerability index, using the London building stock as a case study. A geographic information system (GIS)-based systematic approach towards exploring the impact of the urban built form and the heat island phenomenon on domestic space heating needs and heat-related mortality is demonstrated. The physical properties of individual dwellings were inferred from existing GIS databases as a function of given attributes (such as the form and age of the property). Localized annual heating degree-days (HDD) across London were predicted using a site-specific model. Each dwelling was modelled using a modified version of the steady-state annual domestic energy model. The energy consumption profiles generated were subsequently compared with existing top-down regional energy statistics. In addition, local environmental factors such as built density, green coverage ratio, and land surface temperature were extracted from a combination of GIS and satellite image data sources. By mapping these factors across the Greater London Area, their influence on the risk of heat death during the 2006 heatwave was examined. The model could potentially be utilized to inform urban-scale policies relating to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the identification of heat-vulnerable population groups across London. Un cadre conceptuel et une approche methodologique sont developpes afin de comprendre le lien potentiel entre la demande urbaine en chauffage domestique et l'indice de vulnerabilite aux vagues de chaleur, en utilisant le parc bati de Londres comme etude de cas. La demonstration est faite d'une approche systematique basee sur des systemes d'information geographique (SIG) visant a explorer l'impact de la forme batie urbaine et du phenomene de l'ilot de chaleur sur les besoins en chauffage de l'espace domestique et la mortalite liee a la chaleur. Les proprietes physiques des logements individuels ont ete deduites des bases de donnees SIG existantes utilisees comme une fonction d'attributs donnees (tels que la forme et l'age des biens immobiliers). La prevision des degres-jours de chauffage (DJC) annuels localises sur Londres s'est faite en utilisant un modele specifique au site. Chaque logement a ete modelise en utilisant une version modifiee du modele d'energie domestique annuelle en regime continu. Les profils de consommation d'energie generes ont ete compares ulterieurement aux statistiques energetiques regionales descendantes existantes. De plus, les facteurs environnementaux locaux tels que la densite du bati, le coefficient d'espaces verts et la temperature superficielle des terres ont ete extraits d'une combinaison de sources de donnees provenant de SIG et d'images satellite. En dressant des cartes de ces facteurs sur la Region du Grand Londres, leur influence sur le risque de mortalite par la chaleur pendant la vague de chaleur de 2006 a ete examinee. Ce modele pourrait potentiellement etre utilise pour influencer les politiques a l'echelle urbaine qui sont liees a la reduction des emissions de CO2 et a l'identification des groupes de populations vulnerables a la chaleur sur Londres. Mots cles: parc bati, changement climatique, parc de logements, consommation d'energie, systeme d'information geographique (SIG), demande de chaleur, mortalite liee a la chaleur, surchauffe, planification durable, ilot de chaleur urbaine [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Koronia is a very important ecosystem of Greece which is almost vanishing because of non sustainable water management practice in the region. The ongoing unsystematic economic growth of the area has resulted to water depletion and environmental degradation with serious social and economic impacts. This paper presents an integrated water resources management plan for the reversal of the situation. First, a groundwater simulation model of the complex shallow - deeper aquifer system is developed to simulate the lake-aquifer interaction. Second, this model is then used as a management tool for the development of alternative exploitation plans of the deeper aquifer. The impacts of these scenarios to the groundwater levels and balance are also considered and evaluated. For sustainability purposes, not only the rehabilitation of the lake water resources, but also the restoration of the disturbed groundwater balance considered. The finally suggested plan is a combination of an engineering project recharg the lake with groundwater from the deeper aquifer, and water saving measures the agricultural sector, through the implementation of a crop change program and the exist irrigation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a critical look at environmental impact assessment (EIA), especially in the UK, and evaluates its strengths and weaknesses in terms of sustainable spatial planning. Of the many shortcomings and criticisms levelled at impact assessment, the paper concentrates on those elements considered crucial to a move towards sustainable planning, in particular the role of public participation, issues of alternatives and uncertainty, the problem of cumulative effects, the diversity of value systems, the issue of decision-making and the links from impact assessment into integrated environmental management. It concludes that the current European Union (UK) EIA system does not, and probably will not, without radical improvement, offer a tool for sustainable planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]